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Anime Impressions: One Punch Man

One Punch Man should by all means be a one trick pony. How
can a show centred on defeating over the top bad guys maintain any prolonged interest
when the main hero can dispatch them all with (you guessed it) one punch?

If fighting was the crux of One Punch Man, though, it
wouldn't be half as rousing as it is. This is a comedic narrative that fully nurses
the rambling, self-indulgent monologues of its villains before feeding them to a
hero who is too preoccupied by the thought of missing discount day at the
grocery store to care. It takes such pride in its eccentric, flamboyant brand
of comedy that the show feels more like a drunken slice of life falling down
the stairs with a seasick action show than anything remotely traditional.

Despite the emphasis on gags, though, this anime does indeed
have enough plot going on in each episode to warrant the existence of story
arcs. Whether these offer more than the commonly used sitcom style of “progression”
(which is to say, smoke and mirrors) in the grand scheme of things isn’t
entirely clear to those who haven’t read the original manga, but they do interweave
story threads and recurring characters. And boy do the recurring characters in
this show deliver. As part of a comedic ecosystem and as standalone entities,
the main duo is infinitely entertaining.

The titular hero, Saitama, is surely the anime world’s most overpowered
human and it’s very clearly by design. As a result of a ludicrous training regimen
that spits in the face of real-world physics, he doesn’t need to fly or pamper himself
with gadgets to crack down on crime. His body is so expertly toned that he can shrug
off explosions (his clothes, unfortunately, are not so sturdy) and make mach
speed look like mock speed. Yet the same
man dealing with an existential crisis due to a lack of credible opponents struggles
with all his might to swat a single mosquito. Saitama is this bizarre walking contradiction
with a demeanour unbecoming of his stature, which makes him endlessly compelling
to watch.

It’s a shame he has to mooch off a teenage cyborg to pay the
rent, but hey, you can’t pay the bills with one punch. Once that cyborg, Genos,
enlists as Saitama’s disciple, the series really takes flight. He’s a few years
younger than Saitama but they’re leagues apart in terms of personality. Genos
is an angst-ridden, revenge-driven teenager who takes everything seriously. He’s
a direct counter to Saitama’s lovably dry and simple personality. Whereas
Saitama would knock on a villain’s front door and take him out after a bit of
banter, Genos would level the whole building.
It's the dynamics between the slowly expanding roster of characters that give
this anime tangible staying power going forward.

Hokey villain background stories provide an equally great
incentive to giggle. By building up ridiculous monsters (most of which
indiscriminately tear apart the city Avengers style, leaving one to ponder how
much construction goes on in Z-City), the show flexes its comedic muscles to
both perpetuate and subvert shounen battle clichés at every turn. Each week's
episode thus far has had a fairly mundane plot in which Saitama nonchalantly
disposes of evildoers at his own pace, but it’s how he gets there and who he
meets along the way that make this show so endlessly endearing.

Interestingly enough, it’s also the physically weak (compared
to Saitama) supporting cast that justify the “action” genre tag on this one. When
an otherwise deadly villain shows up, Genos serves as the whipping boy/welcoming
committee and puts it through its paces before promptly getting beaten to scrap
metal (and requiring millions of dollars in repairs). As you’d expect from an
animation studio like Madhouse, these action sequences positively shimmer. Saitama’s
eventual interjections can be a bit of a buzz kill, but that also makes every bout
a little more precious.

Although it seems like just a fun and frivolous show, there
is the occasional bit of culturally relevant subtext to challenge that notion. The
agony of transitioning from student to workingman is a definite recurring theme
that applies to both a pack of villains and Saitama himself. It’s a highly
relatable topic that resonates far beyond the immediate Japanese audience and I
yearn for some more concrete social commentary if that’s the direction this
show is ultimately heading.

If you only watch one show this season, you could do a lot
worse than One Punch Man. Driven by characters that are totally bonkers and
fights that are designed almost exclusively to tease viewers, it offers a
degree of delightful madness you won’t find elsewhere.

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